Pedestrian safety plan announced in San Francisco

Mayor Ed Lee says San Francisco will commit $17M in the next five years for pedestrian safety projects at over 100 locations.

March 6, 2014 12:30:25 PM PST

by Nick Smith

SAN FRANCISCO --

Five pedestrians have already been killed this year on San Francisco streets after a near record year for deaths last year. That's triggered a response from city leaders.

In a press conference, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and Police Chief Greg Suhr said that people walking in San Francisco are among the most vulnerable because pedestrian accidents account for half of all traffic fatalities in the city.

The mayor and city leaders on Thursday kicked off their city-wide action plan to increase pedestrian safety for people walking in the city.

Mayor Lee described the plan as data driven, using safety statistics and city maps collected through the Department of Health and San Francisco Police Department to target areas that have had the highest number of pedestrian collisions.

According to their numbers, six percent of city streets account for 60 percent of pedestrian injuries. The city is putting its money where its mouth is. Mayor Lee says San Francisco will commit $17 million in the next five years for pedestrian safety projects at more than 100 locations.

"Rather than have years where all of us in office are saying that we're sorry for something that happened, we'd rather be saying -- thank you for yielding, thank you for not running the red lights, thank you for not speeding," Mayor Lee said.

The city released a map of what their numbers show as the most dangerous intersections for pedestrians. Those will be the areas targeted first.

The safety project includes construction, awareness campaigns, and increased enforcement by officers dedicated to those hotspots.

A number that the mayor says motivates immediate action -- 4,100. That's the number of pedestrians injured or killed in collisions in San Francisco between 2007 and 2011. That's nearly two people inured every day in the city of San Francisco.

The mayor says seniors are the most vulnerable, who are five times more likely to die from their injuries.